Filling machine



R. B. BAGBY FILLING MACHINE Feb. 25, 1936.

Filed Sept. 50, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet w m 7. m m

ff s

Feb. 25, 1936. R. B. BAGBY v 2,032,163

FILLING MACHINE Filed Sept. 50, 19:52 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 In Jen t2":

Feb. 25, 1936. BAGBY FILLING MACHINE Filed Sept. 30, 1932 5.Sheets-Sheet 5 will Ill Wynn Patented Feb. 25, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE FILLING MACHINE Ralph B. Bagby, Evanston, Ill.

Application September 30, 1932, Serial No. 635,621

2 Claims.

The general object of my invention is to pro-- vide a new and improvedfilling machine for such materials wherein the withdrawal of materialfrom a supply and the discharge thereof into a container is controlledby a valve and a more particular object of my invention is to providesuch a machine embodying means adapted to delay the withdrawal anddischarge of the ,ma-

.terial during the operation of the valve.

Another object is to provide a new and improved filling machine adaptedto withdraw predetermined amounts of the material from a supply thereofand to effect complete and accurate discharge of the withdrawn materialinto-containers of suitable sizes.

In filling machines heretofore used in the filling of containers with aviscous substance, a cutoff mechanism has been necessary to insurecomplete filling of the container and to prevent dripping and consequentwaste of the material. A further object of my invention is to providesuch a machine with means to insure complete filling of the containerand to prevent dripping and waste without employing a cut-oi: mechanism.

A still further object is to provide a machine for filling a containerwith different substances without intermingling the same.

And a still further object is to provide a filling machine of simple andeconomical construction and efiicient and positive operation.

Further objects will become readily apparent y from the followingdetailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawingswherein,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of one form of my invention and whereincertain parts are broken away;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation of the side of the machineopposite that shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view;

Figs. 4 and 5 are fragmentary partially diagrammatic detail views; Fig.6 is a sectional detail view taken substantially on the line 6-6 on Fig.2;

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of another form of my invention;

Fig. 8 is an elevation of the side of the machine opposite that shown inFig. 7 and wherein a portion of the drive is broken away;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a part of the drive mechanism;

Fig. 10 is a detail view taken substantially on the line on Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 is a top plan view of the form shown in Fig. 7 in which certainparts are broken away;

Fig. 12 is an elevation looking in at the right hand end of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a sectional detail view taken substantially on the line |3|3on Fig. 12;

Fig. 14 is a sectional detail view taken substantially on the line |4-|lon Fig. 7; and

Fig. 15 is a perspective view of the filling tube of which a part isbroken away.

In the accompanying drawings and more par- 5 ticularly in Figs. 1 to 6inclusive, I6 is the base of the machine and it is preferably rigidlysecured to a suitable support such as a table top I! or the like.

The base l6 includes an outwardly projecting arm l8 having an opening l9extending therethrough. A valve housing 20 is suitably secured to theupper side of the arm l8 and includes an inlet 2| and an outlet 22 whichare aligned with each other. A filling tube F communicates with theoutlet 22 and extends through the opening IS.

A collar 23 is provided on the housing 20 adjacent the inlet 2| and thelower end of the neck 24 of the substantially funnel-shaped hopper 25'or other suitable storage device is screw-threaded into this collar. Anoscillatory valve member 26 is mounted in a bore 21 in the valve housing20 and has trunnions at opposite ends thereof. One of the trunnions isjournaled in a wall unitary with the valve housing and closing one endof the bore therein. The other trunnion is journaled in a removablecover plate 28 closing the opposite end-of the bore and held in positionby suitable securing devices such as the bolts 29. A collar 30 extendsfrom the side of the housing 20 and one end of a cylinder 3| isscrew-threaded there-- in. An opening 32 is provided in the valvehousing 20 and it is arranged in 90 relationship with the inlet 2| andoutlet 22 and communication is established through this opening betweenthe bore 21 and the interior of the cylinder 3 I. A substantiallyquandrant-shaped recess 33 is provided in the valve member 26 and uponrotation of the valve member, communication is established through thisrecess first between the inlet 2| and opening 32, as indicated by brokenlines in Fig. 1, and then between the opening 32 and the outlet 22, asshown in full lines in Fig. 1. A piston 34 is reciprocal in the cylinder3| and one end of a pitman 35 is pivotally connected thereto.

" end thereof pivotally connected to the piston 34 v the end of thebaseopposite the arm l8 and has a bearing at the free end thereof in which ashaft 31 is journaled. A disk 38 is fast on the shaft 31 and has a camgroc've 39 in one face thereof. A stud 40' has one end thereofscrew-threaded into the side of the opposite to the cam groove as shownat 4| in Fig. 6 and this stud includes a head e2. A crank 43 is alsofast on the shaft 31. The end of the pitman opposite to the is enlargedand has a longitudinally extending substantially rectangular opening 44therein. A 1

screw 55 extends into the opening 44 from the end of the pitman and hasa lock nut 46 thereon. The stud 40 is disposed in the opening 44intermediate to the inner end thereof and the end of the screw so thatthe enlarged end of the pitman is retained between the head 42- and thedisk 38. A she-1L4! is journaled in bearings 48 and 43 provided on thebase l6. An arm 50 is fast on the shaft 41 adiacent the bearing 43 andat the free end of this arm is a roller'ii disposed in the cam groove33. An arm 52 is fast on the shaft 5'! and one end of a pitman 53 ispivotally connected with the free end of this arm. The other end of thepitman 53 is pivotally and releasably connected to the arm 54 which isfast on the trunnion of the valve member 25 projec ing through the coverplate 28.

The operation of the device is as follews:Ice cream, cheese, coldcream,;salad dressing or other viscous substance with which thecontainers are to be filled is introduced into the hopper 25. The crank43 is moved to rotate the disk 36 and in this rotation, as will beexplained hereinafter, the valve member 26 E arranged to dispose therecess 33 in the broken line position of Fig. 1. After the valve is sopositioned, the piston 3% starts to move rcarwardly through the cylinder3i. The positic-n of the end of the screw 45 in the opening 44 isdetermined prior to the start cf the operation and the screw is heldagainst displacement by the lock nut 46. Assuming the parts to be in theposition illustrated in Fig. the. position of the screw is such that thedisk 33 rotates for a short distance before the stud as so moves throughthe opening that it engages the end of the screw and hence there is somelost motion, the utility of which will be explained. As the disk rotateswith the stud in engagement with the end of the screw, the pitman ismoved rearwardly and the piston so moves tmough the cylinder that thematerial is sucked through the inlet 3| and the recess 33 and opening 32into the cylinder. Obviouslmthe extentof the movement of the pistonrearwardly through the cylinder controls the amount of sucked thereinto.The distance the piston moves is determined by the position of the screw45 far the nearer the outer end oi the opening the end of the screwisdisposed, the less will be the movement of the piston for there will bea greater amount of lost motion prior to the engagement of the stud withthe end of the screw when the screw is positioned near the outer end ofthe opening than when the screw is positiened close to the inner end ofthe opening.

As the disk continues to rotate, the partslnove into the position shownin Fig. 2 and, after attaining this position, the stud 40 no longertends to drive against the screw but tends to drive against the innerend of the opening. However,

the space between the end of the screw and the inner end of the openingis always greater than the diameter of the stud and hence there is somelost mction beforethe stud engages the inner end of the opening to forcethe piston forward- ,During this lost motion, the cam groove '39 causesthe arm 55 to so move that the shaft 41 and the arm 52 are moved. Thismovement is transmitted through the link 53 to the arm 54 and the arm ismoved and rotates the valve member 26 to dispose the,recess'33 in thefull line position shown in Fig. 1, whereupon cammunication through saidrecess between the opening 32 and the outlet 22 is established, the

valve previously having shut off this communication. When the valve isdisposed in the full line position of Fig. 1, communicatienpbetween theopening 32 and inlet 3! is shut oil. Hence when the lost motion is takenup and the piston is driven forwardly, the material sucked into thecylinder on the rearward stroke of the piston is forced out through theopening 32, the outlet 22 and filling tube F into the containerpositioned about the filling tube. Inasmuch as the stud 40 is drivingagainst the inner end of the opening 44, the piston is always driven tothe forward end of the cylinder for the relationship between the innerend of this opening and the center of the disk is not varied as is therelationship between this center and the end of the screw 45. Followingthe positioning of the piston in the forward end of the cylinder atwhich time the parts are in the dead center position of Fig. 4, the stud40 tends to move away from the inner end of the opening 44 and there issome lost motion before the stud engages the end of the screw 45, asshown in Fig. 5, and during the interim of this lost motion the camgroove acts through the parts described to rotate the valve member 23back into the broken line position of Fig. 1 so that upon the foil-owingrearward movement of the piston a fresh charge of material is suckedinto the cylinder.

The-reason for selectively varying the rear-- ward movement of thepiston by altering the position of the screw 45 is that the quantity ofthe material sucked into the cylinder is to be just sufficient to fillthe container in the desired amount. Due to the viscosity of thematerial, it might tend to cling to the discharge portion of the machinebut in my device this is avoided by v the particular construction of thefilling tube F. In a machine not equipped with my filling tube,

a drip depends from the discharge 'nozzle particularly where thecontainer is spaced from the end of the nozzle. A mechanically operatedcutoff is customarily provided to break away this drip to insure properfilling of the container. Not only does this cut-on tend to insureproper filling of the container but it prevents such drips from spillingover onto the sides of the containers inturned lip 12 (Fig. 15) at thedischarge end 01' the tube F. The inward extent of the lip is determinedby the viscosity of the material, for obviously it iseasier to retainmaterial of high viscesity thanit is material of low viscosity. The

; lip "32 sustains the material in the tube and at the end of anoperation when the ecg tainer is slightly moved from position below thefilling tube, the cohesion of the material causes whatever drip theremaybe to break 0!! at the end of the tube. This break off of the dripoccurs before the container is entirely removed from position below thetube and since no material is pulled from the .tube it is prevented fromspilling over the sides of the container and the proper amount ofmaterial is introduced into each container. 12 has a dual function, thatis to say, it insures the break off of the drip upon movement of thecontainer away from the tube and sustains the remaining material in thetube. If the mouth of the filling tube is placed deep in the container,a concave surface is obtained; if the mouth of the tube is above thecontainer, a convex surface results; and if it is placed even with thecontainer, a level surface can be secured.

Often filling machines of the kind to which this invention appertainsare used to fill different substances and this requires that the machinebe cleaned after it has been usedto fill one substance and before it isused to fill another and it is also desirable to clean the machine atthe end of each period of use. To this end it is arranged so that it canbe easily disassembled.

The hopper, the filling tube and the cylinder are all screw-threadedlyjoined to the valve housing. Hence to disengage these parts, they needonly be unscrewed and after having been removed from the machine,cleaning isvery easy. To

facilitate removal of the cylinder, the piston is' removed and this maybe done by detaching the stud 40 or by disconnecting the pitman from thepiston. To clean the valve, the link 53 is detached from the arm 54 andthe bolts 29 are removed whereupon the cover plate 28 may be removed atthe time the valve member is withdrawn from the bore and, after theseparts have been removed, they may likewise be cleaned. It is clear thatassembly of the machine is also simple and inasmuch as assembly anddisassembly are simple, the cleaning operation is expedited and hencethe machine need not be kept inoperative for any length of time.

The form of my invention illustrated in Figs. 7 to 14 inclusive is poweroperated and is adapted: to simultaneously fill two substances into onecontainer. The machine is particularly adapted for filling ice cream inpaper cups and is particularly suited for use where two flavors of icecream are introduced into one cup.

A hopper 55 is provided and extending diametrically thereacross is apartition 56 dividing the hopper into independent sections. At thedischarge end of the hopper is a casting 56 which is bolted ontooverhanging arms at one end of the base 51. Secured to the underside ofthe casting 56' is a valve housing '58 having an oscillatory valvemember 59 mounted in a bore 69 therein. The valve member 59 has tworecesses such as 6| therein, and these recesses are each substantially,-'similar to the recess 33. The valve member 59 has trunnions atopposite ends thereof, one of which extends through a cover plate 63 andhas an arm 64 connected thereto. An opening 65, Fig. 13, is provided inthe casting 56 in alignment with the recesses 6|. An inlet 66 isprovided in thevalve housing through which communication is establishedbetween the opening 65 and the recesses 6|. On the side of the valvehousing opposite the inlet 66 is an outlet 61. Secured to the undersideof the valve housing 58 is a filling tube T and this tube communicateswith the outlet 61. A partition 68 divides the opening 65 into two partsand this partition is aligned with the partition 56 in the hopper 55.

From this it is apparent that the lip A partition 69 in the inlet 66includes a rounded edge embracing the valve member 59 and this partitionis aligned with the partition 68. A partition I0 divides the outlet 61into two parts and a partition divides the filling tube T into twoparts. An inturned lip '12 is provided at the lower end of the fillingtube T and the corners of the partition are'cut'away as. indicated at 13so that the partition may rest on the lip 12. It is manifest that theseparated chambers in the various parts and individual recesses areisolated from each other and consequently when different materials areintroduced into the hopper 55, these materials may be independentlywithdrawn from the separate compartments and independently dischargedthrough the filling tube T. The foregoing arrangement enables me to fillcontainers with different substances at the same time and if theviscosity of the substances is sufficient to prevent free flowingthereof, the materials are segregated in the container.

In order to independently withdraw the materials from the separatecompartments in the hopper 55, I provide independent cylinders 14 and 15which are screw-threaded into the side of the valve housing insubstantially right-angular relationship with the inlet 66 and theoutlet 61, independent openings such as 16 being provided in alignmentwith the cylinders 14 and 15. The base 51 includes an upstanding portionand projecting from the upper end thereof parallel to the base are tworods 11 and 18. Sleeves l9 and 88 are respectively slidable along therods 77 and 78 and are interconnected by a rod 8|. Piston rods 82 and 83extend between the rod 8| and piston such as 84 respectively reciprocalin the cylinders 14 and 15. One end of a pitman 16 is rotativelyconnected to the rod 8|, intermediate the piston rods 82 and 83, and theend of the pitman opposite that connected to the rod 8| is enlarged asat 85 and has an opening 86 therein substantially similar to the opening64, A screw 81 extends into the opening 86 from the free end of thepitman and has a lock nut 88 thereon to retain it in position. A stud 89similar to the siud 48 extends through the opening 86 and is connectedto the disk 99 fast on the shaft 9|. The shaft 9| is journaled inbearings provided in a gear case 92 in which gear case a suitable speedreducing mechanism is provided which is connected to a shaft of themotor 93. When the motor 93 is set in operation, the shaft 9| is rotatedwhich causes rotation of the disk 98 whereupon movement is transmittedthrough the pitman 16 to the rod 8| and thence through the piston rods82 and 83 to the pistons in the cylinders 14 and 15. The interconnectionbetween the stud 89 and the pitman I6 is substantially similar to theinterconnection between the stud 49 and the pitman 35 and there is alost motion following movement of the stud through dead centerpositions. In the interim of this lost motion, the valve member 59 isrotated and to accomplish this, a track cam 94 is provided which isintegral with the disk 99, Fig. 9, Projecting up from the base is a boss95 and plvotally mounted at the upper end thereof is a bell crank 96. Aroller 91 is mounted at the free end of the arm 98 of the bell crank andthis roller-travels in the track cam 94. The arm 99 of the bell crank98includes a portion which extends down along the side of the boss 95 anda stud Hill is connected therein. The stud H10 projects through the slot|9| at one end of the link I02 and the opposite end of this link is areat the inner ends of the cylinders I4 and I5 and during the lost motionsubsequent to -movement of the stud 89 through dead center positionadjacent the cylinders, the track cam causes the valve member to beoscillated so as to position the recesses 6| in the full line positionshown-in Fig. 13 and at the end of the lost motion the stud 89 engagesthe inner end of the screw 8'! and consequently the pistons are causedto move rearwardly through the cylinders to withdraw material from theindividual compartments in the hopper and this material passes into thecylinders. During the lost movement subsequent to movement of the stud89 through dead center position remote from the cylinders, the track cam94 causes the valve member 59 to so 'move that the recesses Bl arearranged in the broken line position of Fig. 13 and at the end of thelost motion, the pistons move forwardly through the cylinders and expelthe material from the cylinders whereupon the material passes throughthe filling tube into a container positioned therebelow. It is essentialthat the partition H be provided in the filling tube for otherwise thematerials intermingle while passing therethrough and segregation thereofis impossible. It is to be understood that the dividing partitions maybe omitted and that the machine may be used to fill but one substance,and it may be so used when the partitions are employed. Furthermore, thedivisions and number of cylinders and pistons may be increased withoutdeparting from the purview of the invention.

It is manifest from the foregoing description that I have provided afilling machine wherein a predetermined quantity of material may bewithdrawn from a supply thereof and introduced into a chamber. Themachine includes a filling tube which insures complete filling of thecontainers and which prevents waste of the material. Moreover, thevalves controlling communication between the cylinders and the supplyand discharge devices remain entirely open during the movement of thepistons through the cylinders and consequently there is no restrictedpassage during the last portion of the movement of the pistons inopposite directions. Furthermore, the 5 vention but itis to beunderstood that these 15 are capable of variation and modification and Itherefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth butdesire to avail myself of such changes and modifications as fall withinthe scope of the following claims.

I- claim:

1. In a filling machine, means for withdrawing a'substance from a supplythereof and for discharging it into a container and including astationary cylinder having a port therein through which the substancemay pass into said cylinder and be discharged therefrom, a pistonreciprocal in said cylinder, a rotary member, a stud on said member, apitman having an opening therein adapted to receive said stud, andadjustable means extending into said opening to engage said stud tolimit movement thereof in said opening, said stud engaging one end ofsaid opening to effect movement of said piston through said cylinder todischarge the substance through said port, and engaging said adjustablemeans to efiect movement of said piston through said cylinder to drawthe substance into said cylinder through said port.

2. In a filling machine, the combination of a stationary horizontalcylinder, a piston and a piston rod, a rotary horizontal valve arrangedwith its axis of rotation at right angles to the longitudinal axis ofthe cylinder, a horizontal shaft arranged transversely of said cylinder,9. disc fixed to said shaft, a stud projecting from one face of saiddisc and connected to said piston rod, a cam track on said disc on theface opposite to said stud, and means operating in 50 said cam track foractuating said valve.

RALPH B. BAGBY.

